YSU Baseball Records Come-From-Behind 4-3 League Win
Marcus Heath (above) tied the game with an RBI single in the ninth inning, and Jeremy Banks hit a walk-off RBI single in the 11th to lift the Youngstown State baseball team to a 4-3 win over Milwaukee on Sunday at Eastwood Field.
Heath drove in all three runs for YSU in the first nine innings, and Banks and Drew Dosch both had two-out hits in their final three at bats. Dosch finished 5-for-6 as he, Banks and Heath combined for 10 of YSU’s 12 hits in the second through fourth spots in the line-up. Both Heath and Banks were down 0-2 in the count with two outs in their tying and winning hits.
YSU got a solid start from Pat Shedlock, and the Penguins bullpen did not allow a run in five innings. Ryan Krokos threw a scoreless 11th inning to earn his first collegiate win, and Nic Manuppelli and Kevin McCulloh were also strong in relief.
Milwaukee’s bullpen, which did not allow a run in 4.2 innings in the first two games of the series, surrendered two runs to the Penguins in four innings.
Will Fadness put Milwaukee up 1-0 in the first when he brought in Michael Porcaro with a two-out single. Paul Hoenecke and Jonathan Capasso then had RBI doubles in the third for Milwaukee that gave the Panthers a 3-0 lead. After Capasso doubled with two outs, he went to third on a passed ball with two outs. He was then thrown out at the plate trying to score on a pitch that bounced away from YSU catcher Craig Goubeaux. Milwaukee only had one runner reach third base the rest of the game.
The Penguins scored two unearned runs in the fifth to cut the deficit to 3-2. Jack Graham drew a one-out walk and went to second when Capasso dropped a tailing line drive in left field from Jason Shirley. First baseman Phil Striggow then couldn’t come up with a grounder from Drew Dosch, and the Penguins had the bases loaded with one out. Milwaukee starter Mike Schneider got Banks to line out to third on a check swing for the second out, but Heath hit a ground-rule double into the left-field bullpen to plate two runs on the first pitch of his at bat.
YSU left the bases loaded in the seventh, but the Guins got some two-out lightning from the heart of their order in the ninth. Milwaukee closer Jordan Guth got Jack Graham to pop out on the first pitch of his at bat and struck out Shirley on four pitches for two quick outs. Dosch and Banks extended the game with back-to-back singles, and Heath singled in Dosch on the eighth pitch of his at bat to tie the score at 3-3.
Manuppelli worked around a leadoff single and a two-out error in the 10th, and Krokos allowed a single and walk in the 11th before escaping. Just as in the ninth, Dosch got things going in the bottom of the 11th with a two-out single to left. He moved to second on a key wild pitch that forced the outfield to move in for a potential play at the plate, and Banks’s winner landed just past a diving Luke Meeter in deep right center.
Shedlock posted his third straight quality start, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out five in six innings. Schneider did not allow an earned run on five hits in 6.2 innings, and Jake Long took the loss in allowing the run in the 11th.
Youngstown State will play its only scheduled game of the year at Cene Park on Tuesday against Notre Dame College. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.